Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Mommy’s Dead’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Real Murders on Elm Street,’ the primary focus is on the tragic murders of the Nguyen family in August 1995 in their San Bernardino, California, residence. After the family members were found dead, the authorities followed every other clue they could find in order to get to the bottom of the case and bring the perpetrator/s to justice. The documentary also covers a few other related murders that took place just a few weeks before the killing of the Nguyen family.
All But One Member of the Nguyen Family Were Found Dead in Their Elm Street House
In the Vietnamese community of San Bernardino, California, the Nguyen family led a fulfilling and happy life. Henry Nguyen, the patriarch of the family, owned a landscaping business, while his wife, Trinh Yen Nguyen, ran a sewing business and made uniforms for Vietnamese restaurants in the city. The married couple had four children whom they doted upon — Daniel, David, Doan, and Dennis. The Nguyen family had so much to live for and look forward to, but their dreams and aspirations were shattered on the fateful night of August 9, 1995, when several neighbors heard gunshot-like sounds in the area.
The following morning, when Henry’s sister called the family’s home on Elm Street, the 3-year-old Dennis responded and told her that his entire family had been killed the previous night. The relative then phoned a neighbor, who went to the Nguyen residence and discovered the remains of 44-year-old Henry, 35-year-old Trinh, 11-year-old Daniel, 10-year-old David, and 15-year-old Doan. The authorities were immediately notified about the situation. When the detectives arrived at the scene of the crime, they noticed that Trinh’s jade necklace was missing from her neck, and the sole survivor, Dennis, had also sustained a gunshot wound in the arm.
The 3-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital, where he was treated for the injuries. According to the autopsy results, all the deceased members of the Nguyen family had died of gunshot wounds. In the crime scene, they also discovered multiple nine-millimeter cartridge cases and spent bullets in different areas of the house, including the living room and the bedroom. All the bullets were reportedly shot from the same Glock nine-millimeter pistol. The authorities also found a discarded latex glove in the backyard.
The Nguyen Family Was Attacked by Members of the Tiny Rascal Gangsters
In order to get any kind of lead, the investigators interviewed Dennis, who claimed that there were multiple Vietnamese intruders at the house. Upon interviewing the neighbors in the area, they learned that multiple gunshots were heard around 10:30 pm on August 9, 1995, but such noises were common in the area, which is why they weren’t reported. The stolen jade necklace of Trinh led the detectives to a man in Seattle, Washington, who claimed that it was given to him by a man named Run “Chaka” Chhoun. As they dug deeper into the suspect’s life, they learned that he was a member of a gang known as Tiny Rascal Gangsters (TRG) and had worked with two more members of the gang, Vinh “Scrappy” Tran and William “CJ” Evans.
As per reports, Karol Tran, who lived in the same neighborhood, told Run, Vinh, and CJ about the Nguyen household when they asked her about a good place to rob. According to the documentary, on the fateful night, Karol knocked on the door of the Nguyens, and the TRG members flooded the house and held the family members hostage before shooting them to death. While they were inside, they also ransacked the home in search of money and valuable possessions. Fortunately, Dennis managed to survive the traumatic incident. During the investigation, the police also connected the same suspects to a couple of other family murders that took place in the month of July 1995, one in Sacramento, California, and the other in Spokane, Washington.
Moreover, Karol also told the authorities that she was with the three men on the night of the murder and believed that they would only rob the Nguyen family. Within a few days of the tragedy, the police managed to apprehend the three TRG members in Sacramento. During the interrogation, while Vinh and CJ admitted to their involvement in the murders, Run claimed that he had run away from outside the house after hearing gunshots. However, due to enough evidence against them, all three men and Karol were charged with five counts of first-degree murder in connection with the home invasion robbery murders of the Nguyen family in their San Bernardino house on Elm Street.
Run Chhoun is Currently Serving a Death Sentence at a California Prison Facility
On December 3, 1996, Vinh “Scrappy” Tran pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and avoided going to court and receiving a life imprisonment sentence. Instead, he was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. In exchange for testifying against her accomplices in their trial, Karol Tran pleaded guilty to five counts of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 15 to 50 years in prison. As for William “CJ” Evans, he also pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder in order to avoid a life sentence. He was eventually sentenced to 25 to life in prison.
However, Run “Chaka” Chhoun pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and decided to take the matter to court. After a few years, around May 1999, he stood trial for the murder of the Nguyen family. In the end, on May 6, the jury found him guilty of nine killings that he committed in Sacramento County, San Bernardino County, and Los Angeles County. He was then given the death penalty. The 52-year-old killer is on death row at California State Prison, Los Angeles County, in Lancaster, California.
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